Ferrari's Next SUPERSTAR? | FanAmp Insider

Introduction [0:00]

Dino: You would hear on the radio, "Verstappen five seconds behind. Hamilton five seconds behind." Where am I? Which planet am I on? Just to race in a Ferrari with Lewis [Hamilton] was also very special. As a kid growing up, it's only been Ferrari.

Greg: How's the day going so far?

Dino: It's good, it's good. Prep day is always a bit slow, but you have to do it and it's an important part of the weekend anyway.

Greg: Well, for those who don't know you, who's Dino?

Dino: Dino is a guy from Sweden, born and raised. 21 years old. And started karting when he was 8 years old and basically, nowadays, living his dream and also let's say living and trying to achieve his goal which is Formula 1.

Why Dino fell in love with racing [0:58]

Greg: So that dream of racing, I've heard it's like you look back to watching Ferrari, Michael Schumacher, with your dad- he fell in love with it. Was it the speed? What was it about racing that got you to actually say, 'I want to do this for my career?'

Dino: I think it was one day after school. My dad asked me, obviously after having watched so much Formula 1, cars in general, and dad being a car mechanic. I was generally interested by cars, but one day he asked me after school if I wanted to try on karting. And it was quite obvious for me to say yes. And we went out to the karting track. Initially I was too small to drive it, but we somehow knew someone there to be able to let me drive it. I got to try it and when they were calling me in, I just kept staying out. So I basically stayed out until I ran out of fuel.

I don't know if it's the speed or just the general art of racing that, let's say, I fell in love with. In the end of the day for me, racing is an art. You need to be very precise and that's how you're good at it, both with pedals and the steering wheel. And then obviously with the feeling that you have in different conditions and to be able to adapt is basically what is also a challenge in racing.

Greg: How would you describe your art style?

Dino: I normally drive very smooth. So my inputs on steering and pedals are quite smooth and which is obviously good for tires, for management, but also for qualifying laps that aren't just all over the place. Normally, if you look at my onboard, it can look slow but it's fast. It's normally what we said in karting 'smooth is fast' and that's kind of carrying all the way to to all the categories going to F1.

Welcome to the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) [2:51]

Greg: So, right before your 16th birthday you found out you're getting into Ferrari's Driver Academy. What was going on in your mind?

Dino: In that moment- obviously I had tested for FDA and I was there at the scouting, but you never knew what was going to happen after that. When I got to know that they wanted to test more with me, then I kind of figured out that they're interested, but I didn't want to hope too much.

Greg: It's like flirting.

Dino: Exactly! And then one day in the morning I was in Vallelunga testing and I got a call from Marco Matassa at the time he was head of FDA and he told me that I'm officially an FDA driver. I was over the moon and at that point I didn't really fully understand it yet, what it meant, until I arrived to the factory again, met Laurent Mekies, Mattia Binotto, and just being there and everything just building around me. My helmet for next year, my suit, seeing your name with the Ferrari logo is something that will never get old.

Greg: So speaking of that, what makes it so special to be not just in a driver academy, but in Ferrari's driver academy?

Dino: It's obviously special to be in an academy, but to be in Ferrari's, which is, I would say, one of the most iconic brands in the world, but especially the iconic brand in motorsport. Having so much history and the legend of Ferrari is something that no other team has, or brand at all. Also for me as a kid growing up, it's only being Ferrari, I think it makes it even more special.

Greg: There's a saying, "you are the company you keep." When it comes to the Ferrari Driver Academy, no phrase is more apt. Established in 2009 with Jules Bianchi, the FDA is Ferrari's elite pipeline to Formula 1 for young motorsport talent. The Scuderia's hopeful F1 stars accelerate their careers with access to training programs and coaching, simulators, funding, and of course, the Ferrari network. And while 'academy' may give you the feeling that there are a lot of young drivers to look after, the reality is far from it.

It's an extremely exclusive club in which only 29 drivers have ever participated. And the number who have gone on to Formula 1 is very high, including several alumni active on the grid today. So when drivers like Dino say it's special, that's because it really is special.

The pressures and challenges of the FDA [5:18]

Greg: Obviously climbing the ladder is very hard, not even just the racing, but financially- all of these different elements. When you get into an academy, what kinds of pressures does it alleviate? What new challenges does it bring about?

Dino: In the beginning I could probably feel the pressure as more of a negative part of the game. Obviously we all know that pressure can- you know, it puts pressure on you, it can give some negative thoughts and negative feelings, but during the years as I've been in the academy, done all the steps in the ladder so far, I've been able to kind of use it as a positive instead. Pressure in the end of the day for me means that somebody believes in you that much that wants you to do well. And that's kind of how I see pressure and cope with it nowadays. And nowadays when I have pressure, I just see it as a good thing.

For example, in a qualifying lap or for example, when I get the chance in FP1 so far, it's only been good because I feel the support of the people that giving me this pressure. And it's a big part of the game in the end, both in races and qualifying and so on. It's something that I had to learn to like, but I think nowadays, yeah, I've been able to cope with it well.

Sharing the track with Dino's heroes [6:40]

Greg: Speaking of getting in the car, you said Charles Leclerc is your hero. What was it like the moment you got in his car, not once but twice, and were able to drive an F1 car for the first time?

Dino: To drive the car, my first time in an F1 car was in the beginning of the year in January in Barcelona. When I jumped in, I was doing the seat fit. Then it was planned just after that Lewis [Hamilton] was coming after me to do the seat fit because he was making the entrance in Maranello on the same day I was doing the seat fit. So also that was just surreal, like Lewis coming from Mercedes, the legend that we all know historically, they've been so successful and then going to Ferrari, it's like a combination you can never match in any sport. And I'm there in the middle of it doing my seat fit in Formula 1. It's like I'm just thrown into the circus. So it was very special. Just the feeling of getting in the car and seeing everything and work with everybody, you know, the engineers, the mechanics that you've only seen on TV.

In the beginning, it was more like a fan thing. Like I was speechless. But when the moment came to drive the car and also the [Free Practice 1] session in Bahrain and Spielberg. It was just about doing the job. Like I was so focused and so in the zone that nothing else was coming in my way. Not being, let's say, starstruck or like feeling that I'm like a fan, but I was so focused on the job- which was good in the end because that's what you need to do. It's important to have a balance- to take it in before and then to enjoy it at the same time and then to execute when you have to.

Greg: When you were out on the track in a formal session in FP1, when does it really hit you that you're in this car and you're going around the track?

Dino: Well, I think the out-lap is the best example. The out-lap and the in-lap after the checkered flag is the best example because you would hear on the radio like, "Verstappen five seconds behind." Or, "Hamilton five seconds behind." It's like, where am I?

Greg: You're not on your couch anymore. You're in the car.

Dino: Which planet am I on?

And after the session, I remember in Bahrain was special because we were doing the practice start on the grid and it was Lewis next to me and we were doing the practice start at the same time. So basically racing into T1 and just to race with Lewis in a Ferrari was also very special. It's those moments that you kind of understand what's going on. But again, when you're in the moment, when you're focused, there's just execution that's on your mind.

The jump from F2 to F1 [9:10]

Greg: What was it like for you, that leap from an F2 to F1 [car]? What is the feeling? How does it change as a driver?

Dino: To someone that doesn't know much maybe from F1 to F2, it's speed. To summarize it mainly, it's top speed, it's cornering speed, it's g-forces that are a lot higher. So everything is happening a lot faster. And first time I was in an F1 car, it was like a roller coaster. You know the feeling that you have in a roller coaster, like the butterfly feeling? I still feel it.

Greg: I've heard it described where you're sucking your stomach in.

Dino: Exactly that. And especially how much I prepared my neck for those tests, and I still struggled afterwards. It's something I think if you put a normal person that hasn't trained anything or driven any cars, they'd probably last two laps and that's it. Because at some point they just- the neck just gives up. And I've had that experience a couple of times now, so I know how it feels. But yeah, in the end it's just speed. Speed overall, cornering, and top speed.

The future looks bright [10:18]

Greg: Your website has a section that talks about looking forward and has goals. You mentioned meeting your hero, Charles, racing for Ferrari in Formula 1. When you look ahead, beyond racing alongside Charles or being on this team, what do you want to take away from this journey?

Dino: I think the whole point of why I'm doing this is because I love it. So as long as I enjoy it, that's important for me. And that's why I'm doing it as well. It's a sport that I've been doing since I'm young and I still enjoy it as much. And then obviously when you have success, it always gives more joy. But at the same time, when you have the difficult periods, it also gives you the drive to get back because I've never felt, so far, it's still early days in my career, that when it goes against you, I've never felt that I give up or anything like that. It's more like a motivation to get back, to get that winning feeling and to hunt it. That's the main thing for me. As long as I have that drive, I think success and good things will come.

Closing remarks [11:28]

Greg: From being tapped for the elite Ferrari Driver Academy just days before turning 16, to stepping into the car of his F1 hero, Dino's had many surreal moments early on. Yet in those moments, he quickly focused and was back on the hunt. Now we are certainly not privy to Ferrari's acceptance criteria, but we bet that these are the marks of a future F1 star in the making.

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